Broadband News

Business customers may be able to jump Openreach queue

Communications providers who order a variety of services from Openreach will
from 15th October be able to request a review of the provisioning date for connections to
businesses and perhaps be pushed closer to the front of the install queue.

This situation arises from the delays Openreach has suffered due to weather
over the summer and possible we suspect due to lots of staff working to try and
keep the superfast broadband roll-out programme moving. The situation is such
that many new telephone lines and broadband services are taking five weeks or
more to install.

This provisioning short cut is not available for residential services and
only applies to businesses where it can be shown that the original installation
date would compromise the running of a business, with the example given of a
company moving premises and needing phone lines running by a certain date. The
procedure will be for the order to be placed as normal and once the date is
known for the communications provider to contact to Directors Service Office to
make the case for a provision under this first come first served scheme.

Services that were ordered using one of the various expedite options, or
already escalated are not eligible, and crucially the offer cannot be used in
conjunction with any other Openreach offer, which may push the activation cost
up in some cases.

Openreach has run into problems before with lack of engineering staff, part
of which stems from the groups creation in 2006, add to this the cost of
keeping staff on the payroll permanently to cover the times each year when
capacity is stretched and the accountants would have a heart attack. There is
one thought and that might be that by allowing work to backlog Openreach has a
stronger case when negotiating with Ofcom over the costs it can charge for the
various services such as a copper line.

Comments

I have a business customer who in September was given a November connection date by Plusnet. The building already has a telephone socket and has had broadband with Plusnet (I know, I got it connected). Telling a business that they have to wait over six weeks to get a phone line, let alone broadband, is beyond a joke. Bring back the GPO.

offcs

over 6 years ago

"Bring back the GPO." Oh no, delays of three months and more for a new connection were common in those days.

MCM999

over 6 years ago

lol GPO where engineers would happily do 2 jobs a day and be found in the cafe for the majority of the work day. ya okay.

Spectre_01

over 6 years ago

@offcs

Shouldn't have gone with Pussnet.

otester

over 6 years ago

THe fundermental problemin my view is that Opnreach are under resourced and little is being done to address that.

BT are a very long way with the FTTC rollout let alone new line install & repairs.

UK weather is always variable and it would be pretty uncommon for the UK to go without some flooding in any 12 month period

Bob_s2

over 6 years ago

@otester - nothing to do with Plusnet. We were given a 6 weeks lead on a new business line as well, and not via Plusnet.

KarlAustin

over 6 years ago

@KarlAustin

With whom?

otester

over 6 years ago

It does not really matter with who, as all appointment slots are booked through the BT Open reach calendar, everyone has access to the same engineer slots as everyone else.

Vivaciti

over 6 years ago

I want to know who will compensate those residential customers who book days off work, only to find that BTO has cancelled their appointments in favour of the business which couldn't plan 6 weeks in advance?